STEM Future Lawyers joins forces with BPP University Law School to launch GDL scholarship for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) students
The first ever scholarship for science students interested in pursuing a career in the law has been announced.
STEM Future Lawyers, the law careers network for science, technology, engineering and maths students, has joined forces with BPP University Law School to offer the award.
It will see £5,000 granted toward the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) fees of one STEM Future Lawyers member. The award may also be shared between two students, who would receive £2,500 each. You can sign up to STEM Future Lawyers, which is a Legal Cheek sister site, here.
The scholarship is open to all STEM students and graduates interested in a career in the law. It is valid for three years, enabling undergraduates who have not yet completed their courses to apply.
BPP University’s head of development (innovation technology), Adam Curphey, will be formally announcing the scholarship at STEM Future Lawyers’ annual law fair and panel discussion this evening at LexisNexis in London, featuring solicitors, trainees and graduate recruitment teams from Allen & Overy, Bristows, Clifford Chance, Pinsent Masons, Reed Smith, Bird & Bird, CMS, Freshfields, Mayer Brown, Osborne Clarke and Travers Smith.
A panel of legal education experts, including Curphey and BPP Law School dean Andrew Chadwick, will assess the applicants, with the successful scholar announced in the New Year. Apply now.
Chadwick said:
“As a law school we are extremely excited about this new initiative. STEM graduates who convert to a career in law bring a valuable perspective to the talent recruitment mix for graduate employers. The legal profession benefits from talent with a diverse educational background and life experience. STEM graduates are a valuable asset to firms in improving the delivery of legal services especially as technology is increasingly integrated into the profession. BPP are committed to developing STEM talent further through additional Legal Technology training on our LPC, helping them to apply their expertise to spot innovation opportunities and drive change in the workplace. We look forward to the first intake starting in September 2019.”
Alex Aldridge, the founder of STEM Future Lawyers and Legal Cheek, said:
“We are delighted to join forces with BPP University Law School to create this scholarship, which is the first of its kind in legal education. It reflects the success of STEM Future Lawyers, which having initially drawn on Legal Cheek’s network of students now is a community in itself with over a 1,000 live members at universities across the UK.”
STEM students are increasingly in demand in the legal profession, as law firms pour resources into artificial intelligence (AI) and other lawtech products to boost efficiency. Data and numeracy skills are also becoming more useful than ever in advising clients, many of which are in the process of digitising their businesses and facing new challenges arising from experimentation with AI and blockchain.
